I recently had a disturbing conversation with a young teacher who is one of the brightest people I know. My friend has been teaching for six years in high-stress environments. Like many teachers, her life is very full. Because her teaching assignments seem to change yearly, she is constantly preparing for new classes. She takes … Continue reading
Doesn’t every teacher dream of setting students’ minds aglow? We envision classrooms full of enthusiastic students, digging into new ideas with vigor. Sometimes it even happens that way. Sometimes. And, despite some teachers’ “just tough it out” approaches, students’ enthusiasm is important. Without it (and the effort it inspires), in-depth learning doesn’t happen–and neither does … Continue reading
The more I think about students and creativity, the more I come back to the same idea: Classrooms that are supportive of creativity are supportive of learning. It all comes back to the complex (and wonderful) relationships among creativity, motivation and learning–really learning, in ways that help us use the things we learn. Classrooms … Continue reading
This was an awful morning. You’ve had those, right? In my case, the morning was one long meeting—the kind where people talk at you for hours, without even a bathroom break. Each presentation alone would have been interesting, but in total they resulted in a crowd of grumpy uncomfortable professors squirming in their chairs and … Continue reading
Fall is a wonderful time in a university town. Students return, with all their hustle and bustle and enthusiasm. For those of us who teach, there is the task of getting courses ready, but also the promise that this year we’ll teach just a bit better than last—at this point, all things are possible. One … Continue reading
Since I posted the first reprise of beginning-of-the-year tips earlier this week, I thought I might as well post this 2015 reprise as well. I know I still need the reminders, so perhaps you do as well. The first set of tips were instructional strategies. These are more global tips for the type of classroom … Continue reading
Sometimes I feel guilty about re-blogging something, but other times I look at old posts and say, “Still true. Still useful.” This time of year, when for many of us the school year is reborn, I always think about how I want to have a good beginning–one that helps my students know what I value. … Continue reading
As teachers, it is fun to dream about nurturing the next creative inventor or scientist—perhaps someone who will help us harness pollution to make energy or feed those in areas where drought devastates crops. Or maybe we imagine one of our students thanking us in a Tony award speech, or seeing her writing on a … Continue reading
Today I completed my grades for my university’s summer term, so I’m ready to breathe a big sign of relief and maybe celebrate a bit before I think about the next semester. Maybe that’s why I was so intrigued by a recent article about the amazing variety of official (and semi-official) days we can celebrate, … Continue reading
If curiosity is the beginning of creativity, what does that mean for us in schools? Sadly, as I’ve noted previously, curiosity isn’t necessarily welcomed in many school environments. One of my favorite curiosity researchers, Susan Engel, describes a study in which she and her students set out to learn about how curiosity might be exhibited … Continue reading
